Masdar has signed a collaboration agreement to deliver a wind power portfolio of more than 800 megawatts (MW) in Egypt alongside Elsewedy Electric and Marubeni Corporation.

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer at Masdar, said; "As Egypt’s economy expands, so do the opportunities to provide energy from renewable sources. We are ready to tap into our existing experience with renewable energy projects, while collaborating with industry experts like Elsewedy Electric and Marubeni in Egypt, to deliver on the country’s visionary plans for the future." The signing took place in the presence of Wael Gad, Ambassador of Egypt to the UAE, during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

The three entities are partnering for the first time to build on their existing renewable energy capacity in Egypt. Masdar has already developed a number of solar power plants in partnership with Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority. These include the 10MW Siwa Solar PV plant; four PV plants in the Red Sea governorate with a combined capacity of 14MW; and three PV installations in Al Wadi Al Jadeed with a combined capacity of 6MW. That is in addition to providing 7,000 standalone solar home systems to homes and community buildings.

Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy recently announced that the country plans to generate 42 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2025. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), headquartered in Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, the country aims to install 7.2GW of wind power by 2020 and 3.5 gigawatts (GW) of solar by 2027.

"This new addition to Egypt’s energy portfolio is amongst several projects implemented in recent years, and shows once again the country’s attractiveness as a location for renewable energy investors," said Ahmed Elsewedy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Elsewedy Electric.

Masdar is a partner in the world’s largest offshore wind farm currently in operation, London Array, and recently launched another large-scale offshore wind project in the UK, Dudgeon. Masdar’s wind energy portfolio also includes the Middle East’s first utility-scale wind farm (Tafila in Jordan), the largest wind project in the Western Balkans and Hywind Scotland, the world’s first commercial-scale floating wind park.

Since 2006, Masdar has invested in projects with a combined value of US$8.5 billion; the company’s share of this investment is US$2.7 billion. The electricity generating capacity of these projects, which are either fully operational or under development, is nearly 3GW gross.